Commander Kitsune

One

"People talking"

People thinking

"Kyuubi talking"

Kyuubi thinking

Naruto's POV

"Everyone, please welcome Naruto Uzumaki. He is here today to participate in the genin exams." Iruka-sensei says, motioning to Naruto. Everyone stares at the blonde, spiky-haired boy, with his pale blue eyes and his emotionless face. He's wearing a black jumpsuit, with orange stripes near the cuffs of his sleeves and pants. His build seems muscular, making the girls stare at him longer. His hands are in his pockets, and he's looking at everyone with cold eyes. His silence looms over the classroom.

Tell me why we're doing this again, Kurama, Naruto mentally groans, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Kurama is the only thing Naruto can be himself with.

"You know why, kit. The old man sent you here to watch over the Uchiha brat." Kurama growled from inside Naruto. 

Ah, Sasuke. Naruto turns to look at the black haired boy, who's staring back at him. You think he recognizes me? 

Flashback

"Lord Hokage. You called?" Naruto asked, shushin-ing into the hokage office. 

"Ah, Kitsune. I have a new mission for you." The old man said, taking a puff of his pipe. "I want you to join the academy and take the genin exams."

Naruto freezes, frowning. "...You want me to what?" The Hokage sighs.

"I want you to take the genin exams and join a genin team. I want you to keep an eye on Sasuke, keep him from the path of revenge." Naruto scowls silently from under his mask.

"And why me?" He asked, wincing when it sort of sounded like a whine.

"Because I don't have another anbu your age able enough to join a fresh genin team, and you've met Sasuke before. Maybe that'll help you two get acquainted easier."

"Hn. The elders put you up to this, I assume?" He asks coldly. "Something about protecting the Uchiha bloodline." He clenches his fist. "Something you wouldn't have to protect if you hadn't made Itachi kill them all."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes. "Kitsune." He said slowly.

Suddenly realizing the cold aura he put in the air, Naruto dismissed the aura and sighed. "I apologize Lord Hokage. I don't know what came over me."  

"It's fine... Naruto. And yes, I will be calling you Naruto whenever you're not in Anbu uniform, alright?" The hokage says, waving his hand. "So you can take off the mask and uniform." Complying, Naruto removed his mask, and held up a handsign, changing into his black jumpsuit, his anbu uniform safely tucked into a scroll.

"I'm fairly sure Sasuke knows about my identity, Lord Hokage." He says. The Hokage nods.

"Yes... that will be a bit of a problem... but it might make this easier. I do hope you will tell your teammates your true identity when the time comes, but for now, try not to hint at your identity. Especially in front of your jonin sensei." 

"...And who would that be?" Naruto asked cautiously. The Hokage smiled, which Naruto did not like at all. 

"Kakashi Hatake." The Hokage let the name drag out, eager to see the boy's reaction. Naruto surpressed a sigh.

"Dog." 

"Try not to call him that. And please try not to be this cold around the other genin." Naruto let out a cold chuckle.

"So you want me to act dumb? I'll have you know I'm not good at acting, old man." The hokage shakes his head. 

"No, just- try to be nice, ok?" Naruto smiled a half-genuine smile.

"Said the father to his son before the first day of school." He said. The hokage laughed. 

"Dismissed." He said, smiling. 

End of flashback

I have no idea why I agreed to this, Kurama. Naruto whined inside of him.

"Pay attention and focus. Iruka's talking to you."

Hn.

"You're starting to sound like an Uchiha."

Hn.

"...Naruto? Did you hear what I said?" Iruka-sensei asks, looking over at Naruto, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hm?" He asks, tilting his head to look at his "sensei."

"I said, we'll start the exams. You can go have a seat, come out when your name is called." He said, sighing. Naruto smiled a fake smile at him. 

"Ok, Iruka-sensei." And with that, he walked over to an empty seat, conveniently in front of Sasuke, and sat down, humming to himself.

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke glared at Naruto, who was sitting in front of him. What's he doing here? He's obviously too strong to be taking the exams... did the hokage put him up to this? Other than Itachi, most of the reason Sasuke trained so hard was so he could catch up to Naruto, an Anbu commander at age 8. But no matter how hard he trained, he could never get close to his level. 

His eyes bore holes into Naruto's back. Then Sasuke heard the last part of "Uzumaki," and Naruto got up, humming to himself as he walked out the door. Sasuke frowned. How long have I been watching him? Over half the people in the class have left and already taken their tests...

Naruto would pass no problem, he knew that for sure. Most likely we'll be on the same team too. Great. Can't wait for him to show off.

They weren't really friends when they were little, but Sasuke would see Naruto sometimes. With him. But Sasuke won't let himself think about him, so he stared at his desk. A few minutes pass, and Sasuke just sits there, brooding. Then Iruka-sensei pops his head in the classroom. 

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Sasuke mentally sighs to himself and gets up, walking out the room with his hands in his pockets, ignoring cheers of fangirls. You're not the only one who'll breeze this test, Naruto. He thinks, allowing himself a small smirk.